


Grace

by chrissy_sky, TerraTenshi



Series: Rescue Tim [10]
Category: DCU - Comicverse, DCU Animated
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-22
Updated: 2012-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 19:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrissy_sky/pseuds/chrissy_sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerraTenshi/pseuds/TerraTenshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim meets his therapist, Grace, and Conner hears more about what happened to him. (Part of series.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grace

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place a few days after the events of A Family Affair.
> 
> Apologies for the delay in updating and the shortness of chapter.

Title: Grace

Summary: Tim meets his therapist, Grace, and Conner hears more about what happened to him.

Notes: Takes place a few days after the events of A Family Affair.

 

~~~

 

A few days had passed since Tim Drake came to live in the Todd-Luthor household and he was settling as well as could be expected. He still had nightmares, and if Conner left him for more than a few minutes, he did not react very well. They worried that Tim would become too codependent upon the half-Kryptonian, who was already very in love with the third Robin. But Conner was the only thing that the injured teen wanted, the only thing he had ever asked for really, at least to Jason’s knowledge.

 

How could he refuse?

 

Jason hoped that if this was causing any damage to the two boys, it could be corrected once Tim was well enough again to handle it. He just wanted Tim to have a chance to heal.

 

-

 

Letting himself be cuddled by the large half-Kryptonian, Tim tried very hard not to think about anything. He didn’t think about the patrols he was missing, or the training he needed to be doing. He didn’t think about his current cases going unsolved. He didn’t think about his parents, killed years ago. He didn’t think about Batman. He didn’t think about Robin.

 

He thought about Conner’s strong arms wrapped around him. The gentle rise and fall of a muscular chest beneath his cheek, covered by a soft cotton t-shirt. The metahuman’s quiet breath near his ear.

 

Tim clung to the other teen. Today was the day that he was scheduled for his first appointment with the therpist. Jason had made all the arrangements and Tim agreed only because it was part of what everyone expected of him. It was a home visitation, and while most of the family would leave, Conner was allowed to stay with him. That was the only reason he didn’t try to flee.

 

He sat pressed against Conner’s side as they occupied the couch. Tim had never felt so reluctant to talk to anyone before. He wasn’t exactly a people person; that had always been Dick. The young man he had idolized for so long, since Tim was a small, he could deal very well with people. The most Tim had ever gotten along with anyone, outside of the Batfamily, was actually Conner—and the half-Kryptonian was attracted to him because of some sort of alien instinct.

 

Tim truly had no desire to talk about what had happened to him. Conner’s presence allowed him to mostly forget, and his body was healing so it was not always such a constant reminder—why couldn’t they just let him forget?

 

Of course, Tim knew exactly why he needed to do this. He knew the statistics of post traumatic stress disorder, and his chances of being mentally sound enough to ever work as a hero again. He knew he needed to do this, but knowing and wanting to do it were two different things.

 

He felt weaker and more of a burden every day. The constant reassurances to the contrary by Jason and Conner—how did they _know_ anyway?—were not really helping.

 

They sat together on the couch, and Tim seriously gave thought to ignoring the therpist as he pressed against Conner’s warmth. He listened to his heartbeat and tried to make his own calm down.

 

“Want to go back to your room?” Conner asked against his hair.

 

“Conner,” Luthor said warningly. The adults had not left the room just yet. He, Jason, and Dick stood nearby, hovering.

 

Conner protested that he wasn’t making the decision for Tim, mumbled again into his hair, and for a selfish moment the other teen just clung tighter before looking at Jason.

 

“Do I have to?” he asked.

 

Jason’s voice was soft and gentle. “We'd really like you to, but it's your decision,” while Dick said, “Please, Timmy?”

 

Tim sighed and grudgingly nodded, used by now to doing what his adopted family wanted him to. His only real stubbornness lately was Conner, and had he known the part Kyptonian sooner, maybe Tim would have given more serious consideration to leaving Bruce to start his own team of young superheroes.

 

There was almost no logical reason to think that; Tim just felt like he could trust the big teen with anything. Maybe everything.

 

Conner asked if he was sure he wanted him to stay, and Tim nodded without thought.

 

“Stay?”

 

“Always.”

 

Tim blinked at that honest, simple, but profound statement, instantly reminded of the embarrassing conversation he’d had to with Jason and Dick. About Conner. About Conner’s _feelings_ for him. “Conner, I…”

 

The therapist was brought in by Anthea, cutting him off. Tim was partly grateful for the intrusion, since he had no idea what he was supposed to say to a boy who had feelings for him, who he may have been getting feelings for.

 

Then he remembered he was supposed to _talk_ to this person.

 

Conner pulled back enough for them to see each other, but he took hold of Tim’s hand, twining their fingers. Their hands were very different in size and texture.

 

“I’m here.”

 

“Thanks,” Tim responded, steeling himself as the therapist walked over.

 

She was a young woman, and moderately attractive; though she looked faintly tired, the care in her eyes and her mannerisms seemed genuine.

 

“Hello, Mr. Drake.” The woman settled into a nearby chair. “First, what would you like me to call you?”

 

“Tim, please.”

 

“Alright, Tim it is then. You can call me Grace if you like. Or Ms. Queen.”

 

He blinked. “Any relation to Oliver Queen?” he asked, ignoring the way that Jason and Lex smirked as they walked out of the room. Dick followed behind them.

 

“Not that I’m aware of.”

 

“That’s good.”

 

Grace’s lips twitched. “What shall I call your friend?”

 

Tim shyly glanced at the metahuman. “Conner?”

 

The taller teen nodded silently. Since he didn’t have to talk, he seemed to be going with the “remaining silent” option.

 

“’Kay. His first name is Nicolas, but everyone calls him Conner.”

 

“Alright.” Then the pleasantness faded into careful sympathy. “I understand something happened to you recently?”

 

Tim bit at his already worried lip and nodded. “Yes.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

He shrugged.

 

“You don’t know?”

 

“I don’t really,” Tim said softly, “but I know I need to.”

 

“Eventually,” she said. “Do you not want to talk about them with me or do you feel you're not ready to talk about them at all?”

 

He bit his lip some more. “I can try…” He thought it was best not to make any promises at this juncture.

 

“I don't want you to push yourself if you feel uncomfortable.”

 

“I want to try,” Tim answered, holding on tight to Conner’s hand. He didn’t actually, he still wanted to run out of the room a hide, preferably with his new friend, but he also felt he had to be stronger than that.

 

Grace started with simple questions at first, circling around the most painful parts rather than going straight to them. And a lot about the events Tim still didn’t remember, though he got a few flashes every so often. He got another during this session.

 

“Something got my attention. I…” He gasped as it came to him, the vague memory suddenly taking on sharpness. “It was barking. I forgot about that.”

 

“It was a dog?”

 

“A puppy. It was tied to a lampost and left there.” He pressed closer to Conner as the memory grew. He could remember being kidnapped now. “Where someone would find it.”

 

“It was a trap for you.”

 

“Yeah... It sounded like it needed help, so I followed the barking. Found it. I was going to take it to the nearest shelter when something hit me from behind...” He shivered at the reminder, hard.

 

“Do you regret doing it?”

 

Tim was started by the implication. “No. It needed help.”

 

Grace nodded. “Do you remember anything else about what happened?”

 

“It hurt. I fell on the ground. Then... growling. H-He started cussing and laughing and I watched him kick the black puppy away. The white one bit his ankle.” Surprise. “There were two puppies. One wasn't tied up.”

 

“You tried to protect them?” Grace asked intuitively.

 

He nodded hesitantly. “I grabbed them and tried to run. Then—Then I just curled around them as best I could as he hit me. I lost consciousness.”

 

“I see. Do you like dogs?”

 

Tim thought about it. Though he was never allowed pets of his own by his real parents, and with Bruce he never had the time, there was that small part of him that still wanted to stand outside a petshop window and watch the puppies rolling around inside. Much of the time, he had to resist, knowing he’d want to run inside to be sure the health of the animals was secure, and that may cause a scene.

 

He nodded shyly. “Yeah. My friend Tam has one,” he added without thought, rather than mention the petshop thing.

 

“Does she let you see it?”

 

“Yeah. We go to the puppy parks sometimes too.”

 

“Do you even consider getting a dog yourself?”

 

“No, but only because I thought I couldn't have one. My parents didn't like pets at all, and my adoptive father doesn’t have the time for them.” He had no idea what Jason and Luthor’s stances were on animals, but he didn’t see that their kids had any, nor did he think he would be around that long.

 

“What about when you’re on your own?”

 

“Then I think I’d like to have a dog or a cat,” he said shyly.

 

“Do you know what kind?”

 

He shook his head. “Not really.” If this was a serious consideration, he would need to give it more thought and study.

 

Grace brightened. “Well, then, that will be your homework until our next session. I want you to decide what kind of pet you'd most like to have and what you'd name it.”

 

Tim smiled shyly. “Okay.” It might be nice to have something else to focus on, at least for awhile.

 

Grace smiled, standing as she shifted her notes under her arm. He hadn’t even realized she was taking any. “Have a good week, Tim.”

 

She produced a business card, which she handed over. “In case you need anything.”

 

He smiled shyly, taking the card. He didn’t know if he’d call, but it was kind of nice to know he had the option. Tim slipped the card into the sweater of Conner’s he wore today. “Okay. Thank you.”

 

Grace left, Anthea closing the door behind her, and then they were alone. Tim leaned against Conner, the large teen’s arms coming around him once more, and the tension slowly seeped out of his body.

 

First session: nothing he couldn’t handle, but he was glad to have it done with.

 

-

 

After some thinking, Tim decided that he would prefer a dog.

 

 

End of this part.

**Author's Note:**

> Kon is mentally flailing now. More of his reaction next time.


End file.
